Keys to a Story
by TheFoolXXII
Summary: They were characters from a story she once heard and loved, but now they're more than that. They're keys, no they're friends, who have been separated and she wants to bring them back together.
1. In the Beginning

In response to backa usagi challenge:

_"this is sorta of a crazy crossover challenge between one piece and fairy tale which will take place in the fairy tail world at whatever point in the anime ya want except maybe not edolas ._

_Lucy Heartfilia at some point in the anime hears of legendary celestial spirit keys which the spirits are the strawhat crew which she has to go through difficullty or challenges/trials to get each one._

_i prefer(at least right before the timeskip but plz after the timeskip) the crews to be from after the 2 year timeskip and as such due to their power lvl why their celestial keys are so legendary._

_Since most celestial spirits resemble an animal i know of a couple animals the strawhats could resemble_

_luffy:monkey, etc  
><em>

_i would prefer it if they all looked normal sorta like loki"_

It seemed like a really interesting challenge and I really like both animes/mangas so I decided to give it a shot! Hope you like it...

**ONE PIECE AND FAIRY TAIL NOT MINE**

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><p>There is a story, a simple story filled with every wonder and joy a child could ask for.<p>

It is a story one little girl once heard and although she knew it was just a story, she was still child so it wasn't just a _story_.

It was a whole world.

The memory is hazy and incomplete, but to this little girl (who is now, many years later, a beautiful woman) it's a wonderful memory. It's filled with the warmth of a mother's love and the lulling voice of a father who reads to his child. It was a memory of the rarest kind; one not filled with luxuries accessories or orders that ran her young life but rather one filled with the love and care of both parents in one small room in one late evening.

It a wondrous tale of pirates and friendship with adventures at every tide and characters so unbelievable they seem almost too real. There were parts that made her gasp in horror and cry with happiness; within minutes she fell in love with each and seemed very determine to marry a man like the pirate captain, something that made her mother laugh and her father remind her that as her princess she deserved a prince.

It continued like that throughout the night; adventure after adventure until her eyes grew heavy and her father's voice grew hoarse because she refused to have her mother read it because she didn't do the voice right. She fell asleep when her father began the chapter about a samurai, a dragon, and an island that is both as hot as the core of the world and cold as the snow lands in the North.

She remembers mumbling to her mother that she wants to see them, she wants to see them so badly and her mother's gentle chuckles echoes and reassurances that she will. She will one day and puts a small silver key in her hands and the world turns black and the little girl steps in a world of dreams.

Months later her mother is gone from the world and her father is no longer the father who read to her. She also finds herself very much alone and scared. The memory is merely a memory that is shoved aside to make room for her etiquette lessons, music lessons, and dancing lessons.

A few years later she requests to be caught magic, she wants to be a celestial wizard and to her surprise her father immediately agrees and hands her a familiar silver key. It is a minor spirit but it gives birth to her own world.

Years after that, her father is no longer the same father from that night so many years ago and her mother is nothing more than a hazy memory. She leaves without turning back and steps into the outside world for the first time.

Months later she is dragged behind a boy who is basically a humanoid dragon and for a moment he brings back a hazy memory of an older brother who was a living flame. She doesn't remember what ever happened to that man, but her chest tightened painfully and she's afraid to let go of the boy's hand.

Within days she is part of a guild that never stops bringing in adventures at every turn. There are times when she's so happy she nearly burst into tears and other times when she's frustrated enough to slap the dragon-boy on the head to keep him from doing something stupid and utterly embarrassing.

Months past, and when she stayed up one night to finish a letter to her mother she takes a glance behind her and smiles softly at the image of a dragon-boy snoring on her bed, a half-naked ice mage sleeping away at her couch and a red haired knight sleeping on the floor with multiple blankets acting as her bed. They are tired and sore and emotionally exhausted but they are together and she suddenly imagines a group of people on a boat, a jolly roger with a strawhat fluttering behind them and they all share a smile that seems too much like her friends but so different.

She also has the sudden and childish urge to meet these people.

Not long after that she walking down a marble hallway, past beautifully sculpted statues and colorful blooming flowers. Her dress trails after her along with a youthful maid that seems too nervous and too skittish.

She opens the thick, large wooden doors with ease that surprises her and walks down the large room and in front of a desk that separates her and her father. He doesn't even glance at her as he shoots off order after order and then dismisses her. However, she is not the same little girl that cowered behind the wooden doors at his booming voice and snapping orders. She holds her head high and stiffens her back and stands her ground.

She is not a coward and she not Lucy _Heartfilia_

She is _Lucy of Fairy Tail_ and she may not be the strongest nor scariest of members but she will defend her friends until the end.

She shreds the beautiful dress the maids had picked out and dressed her in, and for a brief moment she remembers her mother wearing a similar dress. Her father gives her a shocked look and she turns around and never looks back.

She tells her mother good-bye one more time and ends up with a blue cat on her chest crying loudly and three worried mages by her side and looking her over and laughing beside her. They walk as far as the mansion gates when the skittish maid calls out her name and nearly trips herself trying to catch up to her. The maid stutters apology after apology before presenting a blue-green box and leaving just as clumsy and fast.

There is an old dark green key inside which is completely different from her shiny celestial keys.

On the top, rather the familiar star-symbols there is a skull facing side-ways with a long nose and large black hair with a hat. There a strange object beside the skull that is nearly a whole circle with four lines pointing at the center. When she touches the key she felt like she was touching the ocean, but she also felt something else, a rather curious feeling, almost as if she could compete with Sagittarius and win.

She also felt like she was missing something else. Something important.

She puts the key next to Aquarius' key and for the first time, she looks back to her old home.

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><p>Hope you liked it. Please forgive me for any grammar or spelling errors!<p>

Keys So Far: "King of Snipers"


	2. Contracts and Info

Second chapter, yay! Um... as weird as it is saying this, this is my first time posting fanfiction for other people (i write it in a private notebook), so...please forgive me for some OOCness and grammar errors! If you see any can you kindly point it out?

There are some referenced to previous information and, I don't really count it, but I guess a bit of spoilers? The numbers are references to the information, you can just scroll down and read the info if you want.

Fairy Tail and One Piece are not mine...but sometimes I wish it was...

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><p>When the small band of misfit Fairy Tail members arrived back to their half constructed guild, they were immediately swept up into the hazard zone and placed to work and help finish building their home. The young dragon slayer and ice-Mage had somehow made it into a small competition to see who could finish first; this little contest had somehow gathered half the guild and started two separate fights that destroyed two support beams. Needless to say, Titania was not pleased by this and demanded the brawlers to pay.<p>

Needless to say, the dragon slayer and ice Mage were out of commission for the rest of the day.

Lucy had taken up the duty to pass around drinks and food for any tired worker while ordering Taurus to kindly put that log over there and stop staring at my chest please. Of course, Lucy had tried all day to talk to a certain Casanova but was immediately turned away; apparently Erza had no qualms if the ring Mage accidentally broke a support beam trying to run away from the Celestial Spirit Mage. She blamed that on Lucy while proudly asking what she did to warrant such fear.

Lucy's mood took a nose dive after that.

Fortunately, the sun had begun to set and most weary guild members had taken that as a signal to stop for the day and head back to the safety of their homes. There were few guild members that the young bartender, Mirajane, had to forcibly instruct, with the help of Erza; to kindly leave before anything more gets destroyed. The young dragon slayer pouted and _whined_ while arguing that it was better to work in the night, he could light up anything and he was strong and he wanted his guild now. Thankfully, seeing the reason behind Mirajane's instruction, Lucy had asked her small group if they would like to meet her new Spirit while she set up the contract.

This suggestion eventually led to a conversation of blood seals and butt and Lucy was quite sure they _already had this conversation_ (1) which didn't help her already diminishing mood.

Needless to say, Natsu spent the next two minutes apologizing while nursing an impressive sized bump on his head.

Their little impressive group eventually made it to the celestial mage's house without further incident (well, they did had to backtrack a bit to find Gray's underwear but that's _normal_). Once Lucy opened her front door the rest of group forced their way in and took their respectable seats; Gray took a seat by her desk while attempting to find her held written novel, Natsu had taken the bed and made himself quite comfortable with Happy, and Erza had excused herself to use the shower (except she didn't say anything and used said shower without actual permission).

All in all, it was quite the normal scene.

Lucy, herself, took a seat by her small wooden table and waited for everyone to get themselves a bit more comfortable while waiting for the Titania and ignored Gray's questions for her novel because Levy has first dibs, which is a promise she doesn't want to break. Within minutes Erza had reappeared with nothing but a towel and water dripping down her body, no one commented on this and instead silently waved Lucy to bring her spirit out.

With a nod Lucy unhooked her new key and begins the familiar chanting:

"I am linked to the path of the World of Celestial Spirits, now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the gates!"

Instinctively she felt the Door to the Celestial world and she poured her magic into the lock and turned the Key, but the Door didn't budge. She frowned and poured more magic in; the Door slowly opened while Lucy continuously poured her magic.

After what seemed like hours (which was really a few minutes according to Gray) the Door snapped opened and a strong breeze that carried the salty smell of the ocean and, strangely enough, gunpowder. Her new spirit materialized before her and struck a pose like every other spirit in her possession.

While she let friends marvel at her new friend, Lucy took a seat and attempted to catch her breath with little luck.

_She couldn't have used so much magic, could she?_

"King of Snipers, Usopp at your service!" Her spirit eased out of his pose and Lucy took the moment to look him over.

It was quite obviously a man, perhaps a bit older than them by a few years with a small growing beard at the tip of his chin. His long thick curly hair was held in by a sloppy ponytail and a worn out hat. He wore overall, of some sort, with no shirt underneath which showed his muscles and also proved than he was a bit more muscular than the dragon slayer. He had a bag slung at his side that attracted the attention of said dragon slayer and his companion, Happy. His most distinguishing feature would have been his long nose which Gray so kindly points out by trying to see if it was real.

"What are you suppose to be?" Natsu asked in a not so polite tone.

"I'm Usopp! King of Snipers, of course you'll probably also know me as Soeking!" With a prideful voice Usopp struck another pose.

"Never heard of it." The strongest team in Fairy Tail shook their heads in synchronization.

"Wh-wha-" Usopp gave an impressive impression of a fish out of water.

"Maybe he's a puppet (2), aye!" Happy took a bite on a fish he had found in Lucy's fridge. Erza and Gray seemed to think about this fact development while Natsu agreed.

"I'M NOT A PUPPET"

Lucy had to admit that her new Stellar Spirit had an impressive set of lungs.

"So what _do_ you do anyways?" Gray asked but his question was muffled as he pulled off his shirt.

"I'm the King of _Snipers_" Usopp emphasized, but was met with a few deadpanned stares.

"But isn't that Sagittarius's job? He's really good too, aye" Happy cocked his head sideways.

"Not quite," Erza activated her magic and eased herself into her armor, suddenly feeling extremely comfortable, "Snipers and archer _are_ similar but there some differences. I believe Bisca can explain it better than I can."

"Anyways," Lucy took her chance and stood up, pausing slightly to let the world settle down because she's pretty sure it's not suppose to spin visibly, "we should get the contract out of the way."

Everyone took an available seat as Lucy pulled out a sheet a paper and began the simple process. She named dates and Usopp merely shrugged.

"I don't really have anything to do...and it's kinda lonely on the Sunny (3)..." Lucy was pretty sure that the last part wasn't meant to be heard so she merely filed it away and finishes her contract.

Despite Usopp's insistence that any day is fine, Lucy isn't all too comfortable with that arrangement so she manages to give Usopp the weekend to himself and she keeps the weekdays.

"I don't see why you would do that, it seems like a large advantage to me" Erza commented while Lucy finished up her contract.

"Better than Aquarius" Natsu mumbled but Lucy had the feeling that she shouldn't summon said Spirit any time soon.

"There," she flashes the contract to Usopp who looked it over before nodding.

"I'll be looking forward to working with you Lucy," Usopp flashed a bright smile, Lucy nodded and with her magic she forced the Door closed. As the Door slammed shut and locked itself, Lucy suddenly realized that her legs couldn't keep her up. Her vision faded and her eyes felt heavy. Her body ached terribly but not as badly as her head; she welcomed the darkness and mentally sighed in relief when her body went limp in Erza's arm.

Her friends' cries went unheard.

* * *

><p>As morning greeted the town of Magolia, varies guild members dragged themselves to the construction site, some not feeling up to today's work while others simply wondered if perhaps Mirajane would bring out the alcohol for a little break. Loki himself stumbled on the construction, but sleep was the farthest thing in his mind.<p>

Ignoring the pulsing pain that throbbed throughout his body, Loki threw himself into the construction of the guild. He may not be staying long but he loved Fairy Tail none the less. However, somewhere between midnoon and Natsu's loud irritated challenge to Gray, Loki noticed something off.

"Hey Gray." He called the ice mage, they may not be the best of friends but they were still pretty close.

"Hm? Oh, hey Loki." Somewhere along the short greeting, Gray had lost his pants, although he had already lost his shirt. Loki helped the younger boy put the large wooden log in its place and followed the boy back to Erza where they awaited new orders. Natsu showed up not long after, but the normally loud dragon slayer had gone quiet.

"Loki," Erza greeted, but the tone of voice suggested there was something more to be said.

"H-hello Erza." Not wanting to repeat one particular memory, Loki took a step behind Gray. Natsu leaned on a support beam and that's when Loki realized that by hiding behind Gray he had fallen for a trap.

The strongest trio in Fairy Tail had him cornered.

That didn't sit particularly well with him.

Maybe if he could-

"Loki, I don't normally believe in rumor but I have heard that you quite knowledgeable on Stellar Spirits." Erza took a threatening step forward; Loki nodded his head slowly, as Leo the Lion he was the _leader_of the Spirits, but they didn't know that...did they? Besides he was banished, his sin...

"Have you ever heard of Usopp?" Gray asked.

"U-Usopp?"

"The King of Liars(4), I think." Natsu scratched his chin in thought, but Gray shot him a glare.

"King of _Snipers _i-"

"Are you guys _fighting_?" Erza's tone suggested that they either lie or die. Loki gave them a confused look, despite being a Stellar Spirit, he himself has never heard of someone like that. If they were talking about aiming and shots then that would Sagittarius, wouldn't it? But that didn't seem the case, besides, Lucy had-

"Where's Lucy?" The question raced out of his mouth before he could even think about it. Natsu gave him a fierce scowl, that if Loki hadn't known the dragon for the past few years he could have passed as angry. But Loki knew Natsu and that scowl meant _worry_.

"She's ill, we decided to leave her at her house told to get some rest, if the construction would have been more orderly I would have stayed with her..." Erza's trailing voice instantly implied that the young knight was not comfortable leaving the Celestial Spirit by herself. Loki frowned, Lucy looked fined yesterday, and after all she was chasing him around the guild with vigor.

"Erza wouldn't let us stay with her," Natsu pouted (no matter what the dragon slayer said, that frown was a pout).

"It's inappropriate to leave a single, marriageable woman by herself with two irresponsible teenage boys!" Erza shot the dragon-slayer a glare and the boy responded by biting his tongue. Thanks to a certain ice mage.

"Anyways, yesterday Lucy wanted to make a contract with her new Spirit. His name was Usopp, King of _Snipers_" Gray sent Natsu a glare," but when she called him back she fainted. She used up a lot of magic."

"_A lot_" Natsu emphasized. Loki looked at them baffled. He heard that Lucy had no trouble summoning a Golden Key Spirit, so why did this one wear her out? Surely no Silver Key Spirit could take that much magic.

"What did the key look like?" From his understanding, Lucy had three or four keys, which left about eight or seven available, not counting his.

The Trio gave each other a look but none spoke out; apparently they didn't get a good look. Maybe he should take look himself? But what if Lucy figured out his secret?

"Hey, Happy did you get a look at it?" Natsu called out, the little cat flew to his owner's side and saluted.

"Aye! It was like those gold keys but it was green! The handle had this weird design!" The cat described. Loki frowned; green key? Was there a green key?

"Happy, can you draw the design for me?"

"Aye!" The cat landed on the unfinished floor and grabbed a nearby stick and began to draw a design on the dirt. When the cat had finished his work he stepped aside and the Lion knelt to take a closer look.

_What?_

"Happy are you sure it's like this? This isn't a mistake?" The banished Stellar Spirit turned to look at the blue cat who shook his head.

"No, Lucy showed it to me on the way back."

"Why? Do you recognize it?" Erza stepped closer to the Spirit.

"I honestly don't know." Loki responded, he stood back up and wiped the dirt from his jeans (which were a present from a girl he can't really remember) "It could be hoax, a simple Key painted with an altered handle sign, but it's not exactly easily to tamper with a Celestial Key but if it's real then that explains why Lucy used up so much magic."

"What do you mean?" Natsu seemed a little too close for comfortable, but right now Loki was attempting to get his mind to remember _where _he had seen the damn design and trying to ignore the linger aches and pains.

_Where_?

"I think...I think that's a Keiroseki Key."

"A what?" Gray attempted to remove his underwear but Erza put a stop to that.

"A Seastone Key, but I'm not too sure. I could research it but there isn't much to know or even look for." Loki crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the pang of pain in his arms. Why did he say that? He can't exactly interview other Spirits for information.

"What do you mean? Can't we ask the Master or research it-" The Titania frowned and the banished Spirit had to resist the urge to comfort her lest he earn a new bruise.

"It's not that easy, Seastone Keys aren't- they aren't suppose to be real." He let that sink in for a moment before continuing, "I'm not too sure of the story behind them, but you know that Stellar Spirits are different species altogether right? They're not _human _but they're not monsters. But the Seastone Keys house human spirits, but there's an age old rule (5) where humans are forbidden to enter the Celestial Plane because humans can't survive for long periods of time. Having these keys means that there's a contradiction somewhere in the rules and not only that, these key, according to some stories, are _legendary_. They're not just something a Mage could fight for or buy, they're impossible to find and summoning them could kill-"

_oh god_

"Lucy summoned Taurus,"

His chest clenched and he doesn't know whether that's from worry or his magic depleting, _"She summoned Taurus"_

"Well, yeah, he was helping around the guild (and chasing skirts) why?" Natsu asked, having the older boy worry over Lucy when most of the time he was running away screaming in terror actually _scared_him a bit.

"You don't understand, Golden Key Spirits use up a lot of magic, summoning multiple Spirits could kill a mage, very few, _very few, _mages could summon two at the same time. As a matter of fact, I've only _heard _of a few mages summoning two Spirits at the same time(6). If summoning _one_ Seastone Key Spirit is suppose to kill a mage with_ all their magic restored _it could kill Lucy who used up magic summoning a Golden Key Sp-"

Loki never finished his sentence because he was suddenly forgotten as the Trio turned tail and _ran_.

Loki suddenly realized he completely forgot to mention that there were suppose to be _nine _Keys.

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><p>Lucy Heartfilia woke up to a completely empty house, which was a very large surprise to her because there's either usually a very warm dragon slayer sleeping next to her, a very pretty knight in her bath or drinking tea, or a very naked ice mage wondering in her kitchen.<p>

Of course she couldn't actually get to see if her house was empty because she couldn't move. Not one inch because it _hurt_. Her body and her head were aching as if Natsu had decided to take on Phantom Guild on top of her. Her breathes came in short puffs that ached her lungs and breathing seemed like a terrible chore she doesn't want to do. She also felt extremely hungry and thirsty and like bringing up yesterday's meals. Repeatedly.

It would also seem as if the weather couldn't decided it should stay hot or cold.

God, she felt terrible.

And alone.

"N-Natsu?" Her throat ached terribly.

"Gray...E-Erza?"

No response.

Everything hurt so much and she was so thirstly. Wasn't there anyone there? Anyone? Lucy held back tears, they were of pain, not loneliless dammit, besides she already cried enough and she wasn't going to cry now. She was strong! She didn't have to depend on anyone else, not now. She could handle it.

"**LUCY**"

In an instant her door was torn down and she winced, the landlady was going to rack that up with her rent this month again. That thought flew out the window when Natsu jumped on her, making her cry out in pain; Gray hurriedly rushed to her side in all his naked glory while Erza began tugging on her bed sheets and touching her face. Happy had crashed landed on her dresser, and apparently extremely tired.

"Wha-" her question was left unfinished.

"Thank God!"

"Lucy, you're ok!"

"Luuucy"

"You're alright"

She couldn't even get one word in, the mages continued to touch her and mutter strange things under their breath. They gave her food and water and they repeatedly asked if she was ok. She nodded, not really trusting her sore throat.

Honestly, why was Fairy Tail so weird?

She smiled softly as Erza kindly pointed out that Gray cannot touch Lucy without pants on, which reminded him that he was as bare as new born baby and set off to look for clothes that fit him. Unfortunately, he dug up her clothing and Natsu had suddenly wanted to know if her underwear fit him while Erza watched in shock at how inappropriate her bras were.

Somehow, though, she couldn't shake off the phantom feeling of longing and loneliness even when the trio had fallen asleep on her bed in an awkward and no doubt painful position.

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><p>1.) When Lucy first shows Natsu how contracts are done, he mentions blood seals, but because of the wording in Japanese is similar to butt Natsu ends up commenting on how painful it must be on her butt.<p>

2.) Usopp's nose makes him look like Pinocchio, along with his lying.

3.) This will be explained later.

4.) Natsu calls Usopp King of Liars because of his tendencies to latch on to the weirdest things, in this case the (Uso) in Usopp means lies.

5.) Chapter 17, Lucy mentions that humans can't go to the Celestial Plane because human's can't breath. Although, Virgo helps them cross into the plane later in the story.

6.) In case no one seemed to noticed, Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's Mom, could apperently summon _three _spirits at the same time, but Leo the Lion was not in her service, which is why he said he's only "heard" of a mage summoning multiple Spirits.


	3. Money is Important

Is this ok? Is it fine? I hope you all like it!

I had some problems with my internet and computer so I had to use LiveJournal on my phone and school so the newest chapters may be updated in LiveJournal first until I can figure out what's wrong with my computer.

I hope this is good enough...

**Fairy Tail and One Piece isn't mine!**

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><p>Money is important, oh yeah, so is family<p>

0-0-0

_She is dimly aware of her surroundings, but she doesn't fully comprehend it. She's somewhere safe, somewhere she calls home and the comforting smell of tangerines and the ocean calms her, the feel of paper and the glances of maps take her mind off any sort of afterthought._

_Despite this somewhere at some time, she realizes that she's trapped, the door is locked and she can't pick it or push it open. It's terrifying but the reassuring smell of the ocean calms her and the heavy footsteps on top reassure her that she's not alone. There are times when the door rattles; she also realizes that someone is calling her but feelings that bombard her and the thoughts force her away from the door. Whoever is calling her isn't worthy of her loyalty._

_Somewhere, at some time she realizes that it's that man's fault and she will kill her when she sees him…if she sees him._

_No, she will._

_She will._

_Again the door rattles but it's someone else another unfamiliar presence. The feeling of curiosity isn't enough to call her so she moves away from the door, but the feeling of safety and loyalty stops her for a moment, until she feels something else, another thought. It's a thought that makes her frown and pause. Should she go?_

_A moment of hesitation._

_She moves closer to the window._

_-0-0-0-0-_

The blond mage wouldn't say anything, but the Key she received from her last mission is troubling her. The coloring of the key is dark green and the symbol is another jolly roger but this time the skull was facing forward and winking at her with a hand sticking out with two fingers pinched together; the strange symbol behind the skull baffles her.

The celestial mage instantly feels the ocean in her fingertips and the sudden realization that her rent is due soon and that she doesn't have the money and she is suddenly very angry at Erza for winning the pageant because she has a nice body, a perfect body and maybe she should have charged everyone for even looking at her in that cheerleading uniform because it was embarrassing and stupid but she wanted to win dammit. The other feeling she gets is the feeling of rejection, cold hard rejection that makes her heartache.

She cannot summon the spirit.

She doesn't know why, but she tries to ignore the feeling of hurt and confusion and the dangers and tries to form a contract with the spirit. The Door rattled and creaked but no matter how much magic she poured in it refused to budge, almost as if someone was holding the Door from the other side. Lucy nearly passes out on the floor but manages to crawl to her bed; she didn't use up as much magic as Usopp but the amount is still too much for her and Lucy can't help but feel more pathetic. Why isn't she strong enough? Why can't her magic help her when she needs it?

At least the key drove away the thoughts she had about her encounter with her father earlier that day.

Lucy spent the night in a restless sleep, thoughts turned and spun in her head, her feelings were mixed and for once, Lucy was thankful for that bone deep ache she felt when her magic was depleted to distract her thoughts.

Despite waking up sore and tired, Lucy manages to go through her daily routine without the dragon-slayer or any of her other friends interrupting her, but she supposes that's because they don't know about the attempted contract and are too busy preparing for their mission, especially since all she got from the last mission was a new key and no money for rent. Although, the dragon-slayer had been strangely adamant about her new key and although she managed to avoid promising not to summon Usopp, Lucy is still considerate of her friend's wishes; if only because it prolongs her own life. The celestial mage decided to stay away from the legendary keys until she can stretch her magic to meet the demand for the summons.

But to somehow find another legendary Key, Lucy couldn't decide if she was cursed or lucky.

She left her house deep in thought with a bag slung over her shoulder and entered the newly constructed guild without a second glance at any new features. The ice-mage and the knight had already arrived and sat at their new table quietly waiting the rest of their friends. Lucy took a seat next to Erza, and the red haired woman smiles shyly at her; the idea of having a female friend as feminine as the blond mage is still new to the knight. The dragon slayer barrels through the doors and bounces his way towards them.

They talked and fought like children and Lucy can't help but smile faintly at their antics, but the news of the merchant's guild takeover reaches her ears for a moment she is conflicted.

_She is curious at the barrage of new thoughts, and wonders. Which choice? Which choice…_

Why should she care? He's not a real father; he can never be her father. A man like that deserved no such title. He was nothing but the lowest scum. But…

She excuses herself quietly and demands the direction of the merchant's guild and leaves the Fairy Tail trio confused and worried.

He may be good-for-nothing but he's still her father.

It takes a while to arrive at the merchant's guild, the sun had already begun to set and her legs ached terribly( they had stopped all the trains heading that direction in case the same incident with Lullaby happened to be repeated) but the bright side of teaming up with Fairy Tail's troubling trio was the constant running for cover. Had she been the same girl from months ago the mere thought of walking to the guild would have her in a fit, never mind running it. Still, the trip had made extremely tired and her legs threatened to fail her so she had to lean on building when she arrived and was thoroughly ignored as the panicking townspeople scrambled wither away from the guild or close to it. Lucy pushed off from the wall and jogged to the crowd that had gathered in front of the guild. She was quickly turned away because it was an unofficial guide mission and they had already sent the request at a few local guides. With a growl, Lucy limped away and hid behind a building a few blocks away from the guild.

The first spirit she summons is Virgo and she asks her to dig a tunnel for her. She doesn't know how many people are inside the building and how many are considered a threat, but her objective is simple, secure her father's safety.

Virgo announces the tunnels completion and leads the way, of course she's careful in assuring that her master is not uncomfortable and covering her bum throughout the way. The end of the tunnel leads right into the middle of the hostage situation and had she a clearer mind, Lucy would have retreated and thought of a better and more subtle plan, but one of the robbers is close to killing an innocent frightened boy and the Fairy in Lucy doesn't like that.

At all.

She announces her entry and distracts the robber as the child crawls away behind his mother who shoots her a thankful look. Lucy smiles before turning her attention to the number of robbers in the room and the number of hostages. Thankfully the hostages were forced to one side of the room while the robbers stood at the other, quite a few of them raised their weapons in her direction. She has no back up nor someone to cover her and her spirits but that doesn't stop her from dismissing Virgo and opening the Door for Taurus.

Taurus arrives with his usual admiration of her fully developed figure; she smiles at the spirit and kindly asks him to send the robbers into next week. With a loud cry the ox spirit agrees and begins to swing his ax while muttering certain things about her bust under his breath. Had Lucy had less patience and a clearer head she would have yelled at the spirit and send him back, but she had one goal in mind and Taurus was being rather helpful.

With a snap of her whip, the celestial Mage scared off the closest threat and soon the fighting frenzy begins. Had Natsu been there, Lucy doesn't doubt that the dragon-slayer would have burned the whole building to the ground during his adrenaline filled craze.

The Mage managed to knock a few of the men out while Taurus knocked a few more, one invaded her circle and lunged at her with a rather sharp sword but Lucy snapped her whip into her hands and stopped the attack with her leather whip. Her arms ached from the pressure and her legs began to give out, but Taurus was already dealing with five threats. Lucy cursed under her breath and nearly buckled under the pressure of the sword. There was a cry in background which forced the Mage to realize that enemy reinforcement were coming; they were probably clearing out the safes in the second floor and getting their hands on anything worth of value. Being the merchant's guild, they probably stocked up on precious jewels and god-knows how much gold-

_Did someone mention __**MONEY?**_

With a gasp, the celestial Mage collapsed on her knees when she felt her magic snap and pour out, the sudden action threw the swordsman forward. Lucy closed her eyes, expecting to feel metal slice through her but felt nothing more than her remaining magic pouring out.

"Just to let you know," a smooth voice called out and Lucy snapped her attention to the woman standing between her and the robber, who was currently face down with a foot stepping on his head and restrain said head. A metallic staff dug into the man's back; he grunted.

"I'm charging 50,000 jewels for every minute~" A rather beautiful woman with long wavy orange hair and a very curvy figure that had Taurus on at her side within seconds. She wore tight jeans that hugged her legs and hips and a bikini that barely covered anything; suddenly feeling self-conscious, Lucy covered her chest. Some of males in the room leaned a bit closer to the duo.

"W-who are you?" Lucy struggled to her feet, her magic slowly slipped away to keep the Door open.

"Cat-burglar Nami at your service," at this the woman winks and makes the universal signal for money with her right hand, "for a price."

Lucy stiffened suddenly realizing that she's being charged for summoning a spirit by the spirit itself, "YOU EXPECT ME TO PAY YOU THAT MUCH FOR A MINUTE? I CAN BARELY PAY MY RENT!" The robbers flinched and backed away slightly. What do spirits need money for anyways?

"Well, you don't expect my fine services to be cheap, do you?" To make her point, Nami stomped her feet and the robber groaned. She twirled her staffed for a moment before swiping the empty air in front of her and settling the staff beside her.

Fair enough, but that much money! She was never going to get to spent anything on herself!

"Y-you witch!" Lucy cried out, at the same time some of the thieves snapped out of their stupor and launched themselves at the distracted pair, but the cat-burglar merely smiled and stepped off the man underneath her and shoved the blond mage on the floor.

"Get down!" The cat-burglar cried out and immediately the hostages laid on the floor while the robbers ran into a stop. Lucy attempted to push herself up but the spirit kept her down; suddenly there was a snap and a blinding light, the smell of ozone and the screams of shocked thieves filled the room. Lucy felt the snap of her magic and realized that Taurus was no longer in her world and had returned to the Celestial world. Nami released her hold on the blond girl and began to survey her work. Thieves groaned and cried as aftershocks ran through their bodies, the distinct smell of burned flesh was faint.

There was a gasp, followed by a childish "AWESOME!" that snapped the mage from her trance and quickly stagger to the closest hostage and began untying the ropes. Within minutes Lucy is swept into a crowd of joyous accountants and clients, each thanking and hugging her, but Lucy manages to push her way out of the crowd and begin calling for her father, but no one answered.

She staggered out of the building, her thoughts racing and her own body growing tired. She was using too much magic, but it was different from Usopp. Was it because Nami came forth on her own? Loki and Virgo do it sometimes, but she doesn't really feel the loss of magic until they return.

"Dad!" She called out into the thinning crowd that stood outside the guild.

"Lucy?" An old bearded man stepped forward, his tattered outfit and dirty cloak gave him the appearance of a homeless man but the mage could spot those broad shoulders and sharp eyes anywhere.

"Y-you just arrived?" The mage leaned on the building wall, her heart began to slow down and instead relief flooded her body and with that every muscle in the mages body relaxed and her body gave away.

Thank God, thank god he's safe.

"I had no money, I had to walk. Lucy what are-Lucy?" The old man rushed forward and caught his daughter before she landed on the ground.

"Lucy? Lucy wake up! Lucy!" Panic had set in, a father's instinct took control and he held her tightly to her chest, "Someone! Som-"

"Everyone's alright!"

"Thank the heavens; I thought I almost lost you!"

"Does damn thieves running off with our money!"

"At least they ran away with their tails between their legs! Hahahaha"

"At least this time Fairy Tail didn't destroy anything, right?"

The ex-billionaire managed to process his mind to put two and two together and when he did, he only held his daughter tighter and bowed his head.

_She weaved through the crowd, her hand slipping into loose pockets and the bag she had taken hung heavily on her shoulder, as it was brimming with precious jewels and her favorite metal. No one paid her a second glance and with a smirk that snaked its way to her beautiful face, the cat-burglar set to find her new 'master' (a master, but not her captain). She managed her way through a few more wallets and made it to the end of the crowd without having the law enforcements behind her. She felt a tug on her chest and realized that she had to leave soon, she didn't know why but it seemed like it was an extremely terrible decision to stay any longer._

_She finds her new 'master' in the hands of an older man, had she been less perspective she might have been given the wrong idea but her whole career involved watching everything closely. All she saw was a father bowing his head to the unconscious form of his daughter. Fear, regret, pride, joy, and all the familiar looks she's seen her own mother give her flashed through the man's face before settling on words to express himself._

"I'm sorry"

_The cat-burglar smiled faintly before letting the tugging pull her away, she could briefly hear the sounds of yells and cries that were no doubt more familiar to her own master but the tone was familiar to both of them. She smiled as a trio of strangers made their way to her new master and left the pink haired boy with a simple message._

_When she returns to the ship, her room is unlocked and the familiar sharpshooter was sitting in the deck, staring out into the abyss. The phantom feelings of relief, joy and embarrassment rushed through her when a breeze glided by. She felt safe, and she couldn't tell if it her own feelings or someone else's._

"_It's gonna be interesting, isn't it?" The sharpshooter turned to look at her the navigator couldn't help but smile._

"_Probably."_

_-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
><em>

"HOW MUCH?" A shriek startled nearby boatmen.

"Err, 300,000?" The dragon-slayer scrambled back.

"SHE ONLY FOUGHT FOR A MINUTE!"

"L-Lucy, you should calm down, you've barely recovered, aye!" The flying cat had taken refugee behind a stuff animal, a lion.

"Ooooh," the blond mage groaned, "how am I suppose to pay rent this month?"

The dragon-slayer and his cat companion wisely kept their mouths shut.

* * *

><p>Is it ok? Any spelling errors? Please tell me if you see any.<p>

Thank you, backa-usagi for your help!


	4. A Deal and A Promise

Sweet Mother of Christ.

This took forever! It's just over 6k words so that should be fine, right? Honestly, I was going to completely skip this and go to the next key but I realized that Nami and Lucy needed some bonding time (then I threw in Loke because I just figured Nami would love to pair them up and tease Lucy over all the hot men she surrounds herself with).

Originally when I wrote this, it was only gonna be half because Nami was gonna go back into the Thousand Sunny and Loke was gonna fight by himself like in the manga/anime but I guess Nami's character wouldn't stand for that.

If this is OOC please forgive me! And the spelling errors! I'm so sorry for those! I tried to keep Nami in character!

Anime/Manga reference notes are at the bottom according to numbers.

_**FAIRY TAIL AND ONE PIECE IS NOT MINE**_

* * *

><p>She's not exactly desperate but she really would love to win. <em>Really<em> love to win.

Except, she probably won't, it's a sad but true fact.

She's been a huge fan of Fairy Tail since she was a little girl, and she's been subscribing to Wizard Magazine so she knows her odds aren't that great, as a matter of fact they're probably zero. She has nothing to her name (as far as the most of the population knows) and she's not as attractive nor well known compared to the competition

So she climbed into under the covers of her bed and kicked off her clothes. She already signed up so she might as well try to win, but she can't even decide what to wear or what use as an act. Besides no one could beat Erza, Erza is deadly and beautiful. Lucy's not going to lie, she's always kinda looked up to Erza and she's more than willingly to admit defeat. Lucy was confident that she could at least rival (maybe beat)Kana but Mira was a completely different story.

"Up and at 'em kid," Lucy let out a startled squeak and quickly covered her exposed body with her comforter. Nami the Cat Burglar sat comfortably by her desk and flipped her hair to reveal her long pale neck.

"We have so much work to do right now. I won't charge you so long as I get 80% of the share." Nami gave Lucy a devilish smile and rubbed her thumb against her middle and pointing finger as the universal sign for money.

"E-eighty?!" Lucy gaped at the burglar.

"I could make it 90%" Nami mentioned nonchantantly.

"Sixty" Lucy challenged and Nami gave her another smirk.

"Ninety,"

"Sixty-five!"

"One-"

"Seventy-five! Take it or leave it!" Nami gave her a bright smile which sent shivers down Lucy's spine.

"Alright!" Nami jumped off her seat and clapped her hands together(part of Lucy thinks that Nami wasn't trying hard for the money but another part is too grateful to care), "Let's get started."

Lucy did not like her smile.

=ONEPIECE FAIRYTAIL=

"So, how is possible that you can just," Lucy gestured to Nami "appear. I can barely feel my magic being used."

Nami motioned for Lucy to turn and the celestial mage complied with a small twirl. Nami groaned.

"No, no, no, no! Don't you have better clothes? Finer clothes? You used be so high, where are the clothes (and the money)?" Nami flung herself at the closet and began pulling out clothes and huffing angrily.

"How do you know that?!" Lucy cried out while taking off the shirt the Cat Burglar put on her. She's been trying so hard to hide it from everyone even before the Dark Guild attack, and now she's been desperate to hide it from the townspeople.

"I have my ways. Oh, that's it!" With a snap of her fingers Nami vanished.

"Wait! You didn't even answer my question!" Lucy attempted to reach out but grabbed nothing but thin air. The celestial mage gave out a strangled yell before slumping and picking up all the thrown clothes.

Maybe she should go as a cheerleader? They're sexy and she could use her Spirits to help her; of course she's gonna need a short skirt, she needs to appeal to the male audience, and she'll use Loke for the female audience. He already dated half the women, maybe she'll win through his fanclub. Or she'll get killed by angry ex-girlfriends.

Lucy gave another sigh.

She really wants to win.

"Here! Put it on, come on! Hop to it! I'll charge you extra later." Nami appeared behind the mage and shoved a pile of clothes into Lucy's arm.

"Wha-?" Nami threw another piece of cloth and Lucy gently set the clothes down on a chair before picking one cloth up and eyed it warily.

"I can't wear this!" Lucy exclaimed and wrapped her arms across her chest in an unconscious attempt to hide the skin the outfit would expose.

"Lucy," Nami sighed and gave her and gave her a look; Lucy felt like the cat burglar had just called her an idiot, "See this?" Nami reached out and gripped her hips. Lucy let out a squeal. Nami let one hand trail down her thigh and legs while the other trailed up to her chest.

"This is perfect," Nami said slowly, "so we use it to our advantage." With one swift movement the cat burglar striped the mage of her shirt. Lucy let out a strangled scream that no doubt alerted the neighbors and unfortunately no one would investigate because it was quite common to her Lucy scream in such a way.

"Now hurry up and change, money waits for no one!"

"I don't think that's how the saying goes" Lucy commented weakly.

Lucy felt strangely self-conscious about herself, with every step she took her bracelets jingled against each other and her necklace bounced off her chest. Two ankle bracelets wrapped around her ankles uncomfortably and she fiddled with the thin see-through silk that wrapped itself around her arms. The light blue outfit was decorated with golden colored beads that jingled softly with each step, golden thread weaved through out her outfit into a complicated yet beautiful pattern .

"Lucy," Erza breathed out, she still wore her armor but held herself with overwhelming confidence. Lucy couldn't help but envy Titania a bit.

"Erza," Lucy greeted a bit shyly, she rubbed her bare arms in an attempt to hide the skin. Normally she might have been comfortable with revealing skin and using her body to get the upper hand but standing beside the most beautiful women in Fairy Tail just made her feel slightly self-conscious. A hand gripped her shoulder and Lucy immediately tensed up.

"Hello!" Nami's false cheer sent a shiver down Lucy's spine, coupled with Nami's painful grip on her shoulder, Lucy wasn't entire sure if it was smart entering a contest with the most beautiful women in Fairy Tail. If she lost, no doubt the cat burglar would charge her god-knows how much for everything!

"Oh, hello." Erza nodded at Nami, "You must be Nami, Lucy told us about you."

"Oh? What did she say?" Nami's grip tightened and Lucy gave a pleading look to Erza, fortunately, Erza seemed to understand.

"You're strong?" Erza answered uneasily before quickly changing the conversation, "Are you going together?"

"You noticed?" Nami stepped away from Lucy and gave a twirl to show her matching outfit. Erza gave them a shy smile.

"You two look cute."

"Cute? Really?" Nami frowned before sighing.

"We were aiming for sexy but I guess cute would do."

"Natsu and Gray were looking for you earlier, I told them you weren't available until after the pageant." Erza addressed Lucy before holding a curtain open so the Fairy Tail member could see her friends. Sure enough, the ice mage and dragon slayer sat up front. Natsu was shoveling food down his throat while Gray and Happy chatted. Nami took a peak outside.

"Those are your friends?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, the pink one is Natsu and the stripper is Gray." Sure enough Gray had already begun stripping his shirt.

"Not bad." Nami commented. Just then the crowd cheered loudly, startling the blond mage. The competition had begun.

"Come on," Nami tugged Lucy away from the curtain and towards the back ignoring Cana, Lluvia, and Mirajane as they rushed forward, eagerly waiting for their number to be called up, "You don't need any distractions."

Lucy nervously fingered her keys before unhooking Lyra's key. Nami stopped behind Visca who was cleaning her pistol.

"We're gonna win this no matter what." Nami swore and Lucy nodded. She was going to pay her rent on time this month! They stayed silent for a moment, only the sound of the announcer and the crowd broke through.

"Hey, Nami? How did you come here?" Lucy asked quietly, Erza's name was called out and the blond resisted the urge to run out to see her friend. Nami shrugged.

"It wasn't so hard. There was a door on the deck and I just pushed."

"A door on the deck?"

"It was always there, I guess, since you last summon me."

"You live in a ship?" Lucy asked incredulously, the Spirit World seemed to void the last she saw it, she couldn't exactly picture a ship in the middle of the stars. Actually now that she thought about it, it must look amazing.

"What's it like?" Lucy asked quietly. Nami leaned on a beam and smiled. Lucy was taken back by the sincerity of the burglar's smile, it certainly wasn't like the greedy or menacing smile she's given her.

"It's big," Nami lifted her arms to indicate its size, a childish gesture that made Lucy smile, "and huge. We had I made from scratch and it cost us _a lot."_ There was neither heat nor malice in her words, only fondness.

"We had to reinforce the crow's nest because Zoro didn't know how to set down his stupid weights properly, and Usopp kept blowing up everything below deck and sometimes Sanji and Zoro got into fights that destroyed everything. Robin had the library extended once and Franky built Luffy a seat on the figurehead so he would stop falling and dragging everyone with him. My tangerine trees are growing nicely so we had to build a fence to keep Luffy and Usopp out and there's a swing on the deck for Chopper and Robin." Nami continued, her hands weaving through motions to somehow convey every little frustration she met with but there was still a fondness in her voice that made Lucy smile brightly.

"Where are they now?" Lucy interrupted the cat burglar and ignored the announcer who called for Visca. Nami crossed her hands over her chest and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Anywhere I guess. I can hear them on the Thousand Sunny, but I think the doors are locked. They won't open no matter how hard we pull or push." It was obvious that Nami meant her and Usopp. The announcer called their number and Nami quickly slipped on a smile.

"It's our turn! Let's go!" Nami tugged Lucy along, pulling her towards the curtain and into the waiting crowd but Lucy pulled Nami back.

"I'll get them back," Lucy gripped Nami's hand tightly and stared right into Nami's eyes, "I promise I'll get them back."

Nami stared back, seemingly in shock before giving Lucy a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

"-Lucy Hear-"

With an undignified squawk, Lucy pulled Nami and they both tumbled on stage.

"Don't say my name!" The crowd went silent with confusion; Nami quickly attempted to save face and dragged Lucy forward, deliberately swaying her hips in a memorizing manner and sending the crowd a sly smile. Lucy responded with a slight stumble and a shy smile.

"I'll be dancing with my Spirits." Lucy pointed towards their intertwined hands and with another hand she held Lyra's Key. Lucy gathered her magic and felt for Lyra's door, she just had to push and-

"Contestant number eight," a clear voice rang out and snapped Lucy's connection to the Door.

"Wait your turn," Nami sneered, "unless you want to pay up front."

The woman just ignored Nami and pushed Lucy out of the way, waving her fan slightly to cool herself off. Lucy stumbled back and Nami steadied her while giving the mysterious woman a glare.

"If you're talking about fairy, then there's me. If you're talking about beautify, then there's me. You shouldn't look any further than me!" With a twirl the woman laughed and posed for the crowd.

"Let's just end this boring beauty contest and name me, Evergreen the winner!" She let out another laugh.

"Who do you think you are! If anyone is the winner, it's me!" Nami huffed angrily, stepping away from Lucy to confront Evergreen head on.

"Hey! Quit playing around, this concerns my living!" Lucy shouted at both women who apparently entered into a stare off, "Nami, we had a deal! And you should wait your turn!" Lucy pointed at the brunette; the woman looked away briefly and fingered her glasses.

"Lucy! Don't look into her eyes!" Someone shouted from the crowd, Nami turned to give the speaker a confused look but Evergreen had already lifted her glasses, giving a glare to the blonde.

"What did you say little girl?"

Lucy's gasp didn't even leave her lips as her body quickly turned to stone.

"Lucy!" Nami rushed to her Summoner's side, gripping the blonde's stoned hand before turning around and lashing out, pulling out her staff from god-knows where and aiming for Evergreen's head. She never noticed when the crowd scattered in a moment of panic and the announcer attempting to lead them away orderly. Evergreen merely jumped again and with a snap of magic she burned the curtain and revealed to the crowd the stoned figures of the contestants.

"We should move this festival along quickly, we wouldn't want to miss the main event, now would we?"

"You fool! Turn them back!" The guild leader's scream overshadowed every other concerned yell. Nami lashed out again, moving her staff in a sweeping movement intending on knocking out the brunette.

"Turn Lucy back!" Before the staff could make contact, Nami stiffened and quickly rolled out of the way. A bolt of thunder struck down a few seconds afterwards, exactly where she had been.

"Oi, Fairy Tail brats! The real festival begins NOW!"A tall blond man stepped forward, static ran down his body but he didn't seem to mind he merely gave the remaining crowd a twisted smile. Nami took a few steps away, the air was electrified, and thunder seemed ready to strike at any time, it put Nami on edge.

"Luxus!" The guild master yelled his tone borderline scolding and _furious._

"Fried and Bixlow!" Lucy's teammates rushed towards the stage, ready to fight for their teammates' safety.

"Why don't we play a game old geezer?" Luxus' voice boomed across the area, Gray and Natsu froze in their positions.

"Now isn't the time for games Luxus, we have to prepare for Fantasia. Turn them back now!" The old man's voice boomed and almost rivaled the blond man's voice.

"Fantasia isn't until late at night; if we hurry people might get to see it." He lifted his arm, the hair on Nami's neck raised quickly and she let out a scream.

"LUCY!"

Lightning struck down.

"STOP IT!"

And it barely missed by inches, Nami gripped her staff tightly, biting her lips and trying to stop her body from shaking. Luxus stepped forward and held Lucy's figure closely, almost cradling it.

"I'll take these girls as hostages, but I'll kill them one by one if you break the rules." Luxus' grip tightened on Lucy's neck and he shot Nami a warning look.

"Stop these games Luxus! You're taking them too far!" The guild master's face twisted to express his fury. Veins popping out dangerously and his lips twisted to a scowl. Magic danced in the air, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Nami eased herself into a stance, ready to engage in combat if the need arises.

"I'm serious old man" Luxus' words rang out loud and clear; everyone fell silent in an attempt to register Luxus' words.

"It's just a game," the man with long green hair spoke out loud breaking the tensed silence.

"To find out who is the strongest in Fairy Tail" The man with a black outfit with white stripes let out a laugh. He stuck his tongue out with showed his guild marking and although he had a mask everyone could see the large smile on his covered face.

"The rules are simple, the last survivor wins!" Luxus extended his arms and let out a terrible laugh.

"Fairy Tail fight starts now!"

The moment the sentence ended a table flew into the air, the pink haired dragonslayer gave Luxus a large smile ignoring the looks everyone gave him that ranged from confusion to fear.

"Isn't this great! This is too easy to understand! I'm pumped!"

"Natsu!" his companion growled. Nami straighten and turned to look at the dragonslayer, shocked by the familiarity of the pose and energy before smiling.

"Your attitude pisses me off," Luxus growled and let go of Lucy, the statue swung back and forth before dipping dangerously forward.

"Lucy!" Nami dived forward and managed to grab the statue before it hit the ground. Gray let out a loud sigh of relief before someone shouted at Natsu; the dragonslayer and the thunderer exchanged a few words as Natsu rushed forward but the words were lost to Nami when the hair on her neck rose again(1). She swung her staff the moment a bolt of lightning struck down. Everyone let out a startled yell that quickly changed to relief when the dragonslayer tumbled off the stage; the smell of ozone filled the air and mingled with the smell of brunt flesh. Luxus' confusion was quickly swiped off his face and replaced by a sneer.

"You barely survived." The flying cat slumped in relief.

"If you want them to return to normal then you'll have to defeat the four of us. You have three hours or they'll all turn into sand." Evergreen gave them all a sly smile and ignored everyone's cry. She spread her arms wide and continued, "The battlefield is the entire town of Magnolia and the battle started when you find us."

"DON'T MESS AROUND" The guild master cried out but Luxus merely laughed.

"I say calm down and enjoy the show." Then the group disappeared with a big flash causing everyone to cry out and cover their eyes. There was silence for a moment before all hell broke loose; people began shouting and threatening and the guild members quickly rushed out of the area with every intent on saving the girls. Nami moved Lucy's figure closer to the Summoner's red haired friend and stepped away. She could feel her own power slipping away but she had time to hunt and beat down these idiots. When Nami turned to look at the door she saw the elderly guild leader hitting an invisible wall and Lucy's friend trying to drag him out. Then strange lettering appeared out of thin air and for a moment Nami cursed herself; she never even bothered trying to learn Lucy's writing.

"What the hell is this unreasonable rule?!" The dark haired mage cried out. Nami jumped off stage to take a closer look at the invisible wall while ignoring everyone shouts and cry, although Lucy's pink haired friend nearly threw her out of the way but was quickly acquainted with the invisible wall. Nami just ignored the fallen dragonslayer and put a hand on where the wall was supposed to be and instantly felt it. The words rearranged themselves;

**STATUES OR PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 80 MAY NOT PASS**

"Rude," Nami whispered and punched the wall, hoping that that green haired freak or the brunette would feel it. More strange letters began to appear, which obviously distressed everyone still in the area. The only letters Nami recognized was the numbers that began to decrease.

"Luxus," the old man breathed out, his face switching from shock, grief and finally settling on fury. "So this is what he meant by the Fairy Tail games."

"I…wanna..JOIN!" Natsu began to push on the wall, "What's with this stupid wall?!"

"What good will joining in do you stupid fool!" the guild leader scolded the younger mage who responded excitedly.

"This is like a tournament to find who's the strongest!"

"This is no tournament," Nami interrupted, the number decreased by two more. "Comrades forcing to eliminate comrades, what is his end game?" she questioned. The elder man fell silent.

"Well, it's just fighting right? We do that all the time…How come you're still here?" Natsu cocked his head sideways. Nami rested her hand on the wall and pushed again, the words transformed once again.

"What do you think, moron?" the burglar huffed.

"…you must be old…"

_SMACK_

"Never ask a girl for her age." Nami continued to inspect the wall, ignoring Nastu's pained groans. "But with all seriousness, nobody is thinking straight out there, they're putting the lives of themselves and their comrades on line without a single thought for anyone's safety."

"She's right, at this rate, everyone who was petrified will end as dust and they'll never come back…" the master's word was meant with a tensed silence. Nami herself could already feel her power waning, she's been in this world since yesterday evening and popping back and forth all day to help Lucy with the contest. Natsu gave the old man a bright smile.

"Ah come one, Luxus wouldn't do that, he can be an ass but he's still a member of our guild, isn't he?"

Nami glanced at the dragonslayer, she smiled softly before turning to face the wall again; Natsu rushed the wall again and again in a futile attempt to get through. His companion cat flying in-between both spaces easily.

"What I don't understand is why Natsu can't get through." Nami voiced aloud, the flying cat landed just outside the wall.

"Aye, maybe Natsu's secretly 80."

"I highly doubt that" the burglar responded. The number decreased once again the number 43 flashed brightly, the old man looked up in shock. The numbers flashed again; 42.

"Nghhh, Gray's out there fighting Bixlow, I wanna join in…" the numbers decreased again; 41. "They've taken out Reedus! Damn, Fried is pretty tough."

"How could you be saying stuff like that at a time like this Natsu!" The cat scolded.

"He's obviously bluffing!"

Almost of if by magic (what is she thinking, it's because of magic!) that Luxus appeared. Nami kept a watch on the numbers, which continued to decrease along with her own power. Luxus kept insulting and threatening but this was a speech Nami had heard many times and wasn't exactly keen on listening to it again. She walked away, moving towards the stage and into the back, she had seen a back door earlier when she and Lucy were talking, maybe it wasn't block.

Unfortunately it was indeed blocked.

She couldn't exactly jump up the wall or even climb up or down, her dress wasn't suited that task and she'll probably slip and fall. She couldn't leave Lucy alone either and with no way out there wouldn't be a reason to call out Usopp.

"NOT YOU TOO!" Someone screamed from the front, startled, Lucy ran back to see what was going on only to find another guild member slammed against the 'wall'. The number decreased and flashed 3.

"Only three people left?" The guild master asked and looked around. Natsu turned and passed by Nami.

"Where are you going?" She asked and Natsu gave her a look like she was an idiot.

"I'm gonna go wake up Erza."

"How do you expect to do that?" Nami put her hands on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him.

"If I burn it it'll come off, right?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Reacting on pure instinct, Nami slapped the pink haired boy, "YOU'LL KILL HER!"

"Owwww, we won't know unless we try!" the boy scrambled off to do just that and with a screech Nami followed.

"STOP IT!"

Natsu blew a breath of fire and Nami tackled the boy; they landed with a loud thud but the wooden floor shook from their impact, causing the statue of the red head to fall.

"Oh my god!" Nami cried out and then let out a scream which was echoed by everyone else. "YOU CRACKED HER!"

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!OH CRAP, WE NEED GLUE! HAPPY! GET THE GLUE!"

"YOU IDIOT! LIKE THAT WILL OBVIOUSLY HELP IT! WE NEED TO SMELT IT WITH MY IRON AND YOUR FIRE!" The new comer screeched while dodging the flying cat.

"ERZA DON'T DIE!" Nami cried. Natsu began begging for forgiveness when with a resounding crack the statue began to break.

And revealed a living, breathing Erza.

There was a stunned silence before Erza's eyes landed on the dragonslayer and she growled.

"I feel hot, is this your doing Natsu." Before Natsu could respond Erza sent him flying with a punch. Everyone rejoiced at the redhead's return and the number increased.

"Five?" the cat questioned.

"It would seem like that man decided to join."

"That's nice and dandy but can you defeat Evergreen?" Nami ignored everyone's exclamation and concentrated on the red head.

"Yes," she answered seriously.

"Then hurry up." Erza flashed the burglar a smile and nodded. She took off without any problems and ignored Natsu and the dark haired man's pitied looks as they attempted to break through the barrier again. Minutes ticked by slowly, Nami just took a seat at a table and eyed the lettering. Nastu and the man (Gajeel, Happy introduced) argued back and forth for the duration of the time.

The lettering rearranged and the number increased to 11. Instantly, the sound of cracking overshadowed everything and with a pop the stone broke apart and the girls began to stagger around.

"W-what's going on?" Lucy's voice broke through the silence, instantly the other girls began to question the situation and with a cry Natsu and Happy launched themselves at the blonde. Natsu then began to explain what had happen the past two hours complete little sounds effects and punches. The girls gathered around the boy to hear him out while Nami slithered behind the Summoner, putting her hand on her shoulder startling the blonde. Lucy turned to look at her before flashing the burglar a reassuring smile and Nami returned the smile. Soon enough Natsu began picking fights with the girls, they've taken to ignoring him and instead focused on the guild leader for more instructions, Lucy however, became the center of his attention and began to chase the blond around. Nami hit the boy on the head.

The lettering on the barrier disappeared and small screens of a jolly roger with a bolt of lightning across its eye socket appeared

"It looks like we lost one of our rules," Luxus' voice rang out "So I'm going to instate a new one. To keep this _game_ going I've decided to activate the Hall of Thunder."

"The Hall of Thunder?!" The guild master gasped out.

"Only an hour and ten minutes remaining." The thunderer taunted. "Will you defeat us or will you play nice and retire, _Master?"_ The last part was sneered and directed at the guild master who let out a scream as Luxus' laughed faded away.

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU THINK LUXUS?! DRAGGING IN INNOCENT CIVILIANS INTO THIS!?" Instantly the old man gripped his chest and fell to his knees. Everyone let out a surprised cry, one of the girls quickly left running up to the stairs to get his medicine. Nami herself moved to his side; she might not be doctor but she picked up a few things from their doctor(2).

"Give him some space!" Nami rolled the old man to his back and tilted his head back.

"What is the Hall of Thunder, old man?!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, shut up!" Nami scolded; she flipped her hair and leaned in, putting her ear on his chest. His breathing came in haggardly and his chest moved slowly. "Come on, breathe old man." Nami whispered when she sat up and tilted his head further back.

"This is bad! Everyone, look outside!" The silver haired girl ran down the stairs with a paper bag clutched tightly to her chest. Everyone instantly ran outside while Nami leaned in to listen to the old man's breathing. The girl took a seat beside him and fished out some pilled from the bag.

"Master," she whispered and slipped the pills in his mouth. It took some effort from the elder man but he managed to swallow the pills. Nami quietly counted his heartbeats as his breath began to settle; when the Master finally settled own and his breathing evened out, the girl, Mirajane took the man upstairs. Natsu carried a burned looking Visca upstairs with him to get help; Nami looked over the electrocuted girl, carefully cleaning her burns and putting ointment on them before wrapping them up.

"You seem quite skilled," Mirajane spoke up but she never took her eyes off the guild master.

"I've picked up a few things," the memories of Skypedia and Enel were still fresh in her mind even after so many years. They lapse into a comfortable silence which was interrupted by Lucy who shyly entered the room with Happy attached to her shoulder.

"We're leaving," she announced; apparently Lucy had taken the chance to change into something more comfortable which so happened to be a cheerleader's outfit Mirajane kept from a photo-shoot; Nami nodded and stood up from her seat, ignoring the waves of fatigue. "I'll send you back and when we get into a fight I'll bring you out."

"Alright, let's do this." Nami's Door opened; the sound of waves rang clearly and the smell of salt filled the air. Unknowingly, the number on the wall decreased to 10.

=ONEPIECE FAIRYTAIL=

"_My keys!" Lucy cried while ducking when another puppet launched itself at her. One of the puppets flew higher than the rest and taunted her by jangling her golden keys. Her hand immediately unhooked the sea-green keys from her hip; she had decided to keep them separate since it seemed like these keys and the golden keys were two separate entities. She held on to the keys tightly even when a puppet slammed itself on her bicep._

"_Lucy, summon Nami!" Happy cried out while trying to avoid three puppets. Bixlow let out a laugh._

"_No!" Nami jumped out of the way from one of the puppets but cried out when a puppet from behind hit her shoulder. She remembered seeing Nami sitting beside Visca looking so tired and worn out, probably from staying by her side all day. Spirits weren't made to last very long in this world and Nami was already so tired, Lucy couldn't ask any more from her. Usopp himself probably wouldn't be much help in a fight like this; with so many mid and short range enemies._

_Lucy fell to her knees after an assault; Happy's warning shout alerted her of the puppeteer's spell but Lucy only clung to the Sea-Stone keys tightly._

ONEPIECE FAIRYTAIL=

"You didn't summon me," Nami scolded while cradling Lucy. A blond haired man stood beside her, his fists lifted and feet parted into a battle stance. They stood a few feet away from a smoking crater.

"It seems as if I'm not the only one who can pass through the gate." The man loosened his stance and flashed a smile at the blonde mage. "I suppose this is proof that the barrier between human and spirit crumbles to nothing before the power of love."

Nami gagged, "Get a room you too," She threw Lucy into the arms of the man who readily caught her, Lucy blushed a bright red, "Remember my charge Luuucy~" Nami stepped forward while twirling her staff, the cat burglar had taken the chance to change her outfit to her regular outfit.

"Let's get this show on the road," Nami eased into her stance, grinning widely at Bixlow, the man –Loke- took his position beside Nami.

"Another beauty? Unfortunately your beauty can't surpass Lucy," Loke flashed a smile to Lucy.

"Oh, really?" Nami raised an eyebrow at the statement before shrugging it off; she really wasn't too keen on stealing people's boyfriends. Bixlow sent out another wave of puppets and with a series of waves and sweeps of her staff, Nami managed to divert and destroy a few. Happy had taken refuge on Nami's back, Nami herself didn't mind, the cat was rather adorable (if a bit strange)

"Lucy, stay behind me!" Loke cried out but Lucy managed to stand on her feet and unhook her whip.

"Don't be silly! A Stellar Spirit isn't a shield! I fight together with my spirits! That's my style!" Lucy and Loke shared a smile and Nami giggled with Happy.

"What a cute couple." They said causing Lucy to blush a scarlet red.

"W-WE ARE NOT!"

"Watch out!" Loke pushed Lucy out of the way in time to avoid another spell from a puppet.

"I'll take care of the puppets; you guys get rid of creeper!" Nami twirled her staff again. Instantly a roar echoed through and bolts of lightning struck down, destroying multiple puppets and closely striking Loke(3). "Thunderbolt Tempo!"

"Watch it!" Lucy cried out. Nami gave the Summoner a large grin.

Nami waved away the Summoner's anger and concentrated on the onslaught of puppets, batting them away with her staff and dodging them. Loke himself started destroying any puppet that ventured near the Summoner. With all the puppets either occupied or destroyed, Lucy aimed straight for Bixlow, Happy helping her jump to reach but missed when the puppeteer jumped out of the way and began to tease her.

"I'm starting to think you might have some competition." Nami called out, and with a thrust of her staff and a gust of wind destroyed a few puppets. Loke growled and punched a puppet a little too hard.

"Keep going Lucy! Bixlow isn't that strong!"

Almost immediately after that the blonde mage managed to whip Bixlow, slightly knocking his mask out of place," Dammit it all! I guess there's no other choice!" Bixlow angrily removed his mask, "Figure Eyes!"

"Look away!" Happy hurriedly covered his eyes, Nami and Lucy looked away quickly, and neither keen on repeating the stone incident.

"The Raijinshuu have secondary abilities in their eyes!" Loke explained, unfortunately with their eyesight gone they were left vulnerable, Loke took a hit in the stomach from a puppet and Nami let out a cry when one hit her from the side. "If you look into his eyes he can turn you into a doll and control your soul!" Loke wheezed out.

Lucy let out a cry when a puppet sent her flying; Loke took a defensive stance, "Lucy!"

Nami twirled her staff, she somehow managed to hit a few puppets but she fell to her knees when one hit her on her upper-back. Using Thunder Tempo was dangerous enough without eyesight and anything else she'll need to know where her target is and she can't even see without being turned into a doll!

"Lucy! You need to get back!" Nami decided to swing it and began to swing her staff, building the clouds necessary and trying to defend herself.

"Use Horolugium! I'll fall back for a moment and you can use Horologium to harden your defenses!" Loke had somehow managed to position himself in front of Lucy, taking most of the attacks.

"That's easy enough for you to say but he took all my keys and I can't see where I'm going!" Nami cried out again when another puppet hit her on the side. "A-and anyways, I'm trusting you guys to do something about him!" There was a moment of silence before Nami sharply swung her staff to bat away a puppet.

"You asked for it," Nami managed to back away towards the sound of Loke's and Lucy's voice, "I'm ready if you are."

"Ok," Loke agreed, "When I give the signal open your eyes and go for him."

"But, if I open my eyes-"

"I thought you trusted us," Nami could practically hear the little lovey dubby moment.

"Somehow, I feel left out," She muttered.

"Aye!" Happy agreed but they were dutifully ignored.

"Finish them!" Bixlow ordered his puppets with a laugh.

"Zenith of Regulus, Lion Brilliance!"

"THUNDER TEMPO!" Lightning rang out and the smell of brunt wood gave Lucy her opening, along with the blinding flash of Loke's attack.

"Now!" Loke signaled and Lucy rushed forward, her whip wrapped around Bixlow's throat and with a tug the puppeteer fell out of balance.

"Nami! Loke!" Lucy tugged harder.

"No..way..you can..d-defeat me!" Bixlow managed to sound out. Loke rushed from the right and Nami rushed from the left.

"I'm not the same as I used to be!" Loke cried out, raising his hand into a fist and concentrated his magic. "Since meeting Lucy I've recovered my original powers as a Stellar Spirit! No! Meeting Lucy itself made me strong!"

"I'm not weak!" Nami lifted her staff feeling slightly offended by being underestimated, "I promised I wouldn't rely on them anymore! I'm not _weak anymore!" _The remaining thunderclouds gathered and bolt struck down and danced at the tip of her staff.

"I'm not like those Ridiculous Dolls you control! _Love_ gives a Stellar Spirit power!"

"Thunder Lance!" Nami thrust the staff forward the moment Loke punched. Bixlow let out a strangle scream and flew backwards. The faint smell of burned flesh mingled with the smell of ozone, the only sign of life Bixlow gave was a low pained groan. Nami let out a breath she was holding in while Happy danced and cheered.

"Thank you," Lucy smiled at them both.

"Check this out, Lucy." Loke stepped forward and in front of Nami, Nami rolled her eyes but said nothing more. Loke lifted his arm and with a burst of magic spelled 'I LOVE LUCY' with his colorful light.

"You're sooo cute together~!" Nami and Happy laughed.

"S-Stop saying that!" Lucy stuttered.

"Awww, you look so adorable!" Nami teased; Loke turned his light show off and quickly wrapped his arms Lucy.

"I've missed you, Lucy!" Loke cried out. Nami laughed harder when Lucy turned a brighter red.

"I guess I'm done for today, remember our deal Lucy!" With a wave good-bye Nami disappeared ignoring Lucy's indignant squawk.

=ONEPIECE FAIRYTAIL=

"_You're back!" The sharpshoot greeted._

"_I'm beat," the navigator sighed and slumped against the closed golden Gates._

"_It's no wonder! It takes two of us to open these stupid Gates!" The sharpshooter kicked the Gates lightly and then sighed "I hope we find Zoro and Luffy soon."_

_He was met with no response._

"_H-hey? Nami?" the sharpshooter knelt down to take a closer look at the navigator and then frowned. "You could have at least gone to bed." He muttered and then gently rearranged the navigator so she laid sleeping comfortably on the soft grass._

ONEPIECE FAIRYTAIL=

"Eh? A tie?!" Lucy looked down at the bag of money in her hand. Mirajane smiled gently.

"We were all a little curious about your act but since you couldn't finish it we just decided on what you had. You two looked very sexy as a belly dancers, Lucy."

Lucy blushed slightly, "Th-thanks."

"It's only half but it should be fine, right?"

"Y-yeah! Thanks Mirajane! It should be enough for both of us."

"Both?" Mirajane cocked her head to side and blinked. Lucy just smiled brightly.

* * *

><p>1.)This shouldn't need an explanation, Nami has natural weather-reading skills so I assumed that being near Luxus always puts her on edge since he manipulates thunder and thus changes the atmosphere on some level, so Nami could probably tell when he was going to strike and probably guess where.<p>

2.)Before Chopper came along, Luffy and Zoro commented once that Nami was their doctor and cook in one, if a bit expensive. It's also mentioned when Nami got sick that she's the one with most medical knowledge before Chopper and Robin became part of the crew. I'm pretty sure both Robin and Nami might have picked up a few things from Chopper on the way, especially Robin.

3.)Nami cannot accurately control Thunder Tempo, because the clouds are too large and wide spread she can't control the bolts. The smaller it is the more accurate it is but she still doesn't have full control of the thunder

(Also, I'm trying to make this as gen as possible so the only mention of pairings will probably be Loke/Lucy 'cause Loke is rather lovey-dubby with Lucy and hinted Natsu/Lucy that is basically friendship depending on what goggles your wearing)


End file.
